TERMS OF USE

Optimus provides a free service whereby you can obtain free quotes for legal conveyancing and/or book and pay for home surveys, in each case from our panels of Property Professionals (defined below), (the Services).

These Services are offered by Landmark Information Group Limited (registered no. 02892803) (trading as Optimus) (Optimus, we, us or our). Our registered office is at 5-7 Abbey Court, Eagle Way, Sowton Industrial Estate, Exeter, Devon, EX2 7HY, United Kingdom. The Services are accessed via the services, websites and applications of third party Operators (defined below) (such as financial advisers, mortgage brokers, estate agents and other property professionals and intermediaries).

The following terms and conditions (the Terms) apply to all dealings in respect of our Services.

By accessing and using our Services, you are agreeing to these Terms (which include our Privacy Notice). Please read them carefully.

If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, do not use the Services.

PLEASE NOTE: These Terms apply only to your use of the Services hosted by Optimus and not to your access to and use of the website and / or app you have used to access this Service. The website and / or app terms and conditions will apply to your use of such website and / or app.

Also, if you choose to engage a Property Professional to perform Property Professional Services (defined below), these Terms shall not apply and you and that Property Professional shall enter into a separate agreement directly relating to the purchase and performance of such Property Professional Services.

We may amend these Terms and our Privacy Notice from time to time without notice. You should therefore read them each time you use our Service.

1   In these Terms, the following definitions apply:

Conveyancer: the property law professional (typically a conveyancing firm, law firm or conveyancer) who has allowed for their Quote(s) to be made available to you via our Service.
Home Survey Services: the professional services performed by a Surveyor.
Legal Conveyancing Services: the professional services performed by a Conveyancer.
Operator: the operator of the website or app through which you accessed and used our Service.
Price: the Surveyor’s price for Home Survey Services as notified to you via the Service.
Privacy Notice: the Landmark Information Group privacy notice that applies to our use your personal data a copy of which can be found here: https://www.landmark.co.uk/privacy-policy/ and which may be updated from time to time by us.
Property Professional: means either a Conveyancer or a Surveyor depending on the relevant context.
Property Professional Services: means the Home Survey Services and the Legal Conveyancing Services (unless the context otherwise requires).
Quote: each quote for Legal Conveyancing Services generated by us and notified to you on screen or in an email or, if requested by you, via another means of contacting you.
Surveyor: the land or property surveying professional (typically a surveying firm or a chartered surveyor) whose Home Survey Services you can schedule, book and pay for via our Service.

Other defined terms that we use in these Terms are set out in bold within the relevant paragraph.

2 THE SERVICE

Our Services are free and allow you to obtain professional Quotes for Legal Conveyancing Services and/or book and pay for Home Survey Services in connection with the sale, purchase, re-mortgage and / or an equity release in respect of a residential property.

Each Quote and Price is based on the information you have provided and our own calculations of likely costs (including the costs specified by relevant third party sources (such as the Property Professional) and any disbursements that we are aware of (such as searches and Land Registry fees)).

1.1 The method by which we generate a Quote(s) or Price(s) on your behalf differs depending on whether you require Legal Conveyancing Services or Home Survey Services. We will provide an indicative Quote(s) for Legal Conveyancing Services, which may change depending on the Legal Conveyancing Services actually performed for you and whether any additional legal services are provided to you, and which becomes payable on completion of the Legal Conveyance Service. For Home Survey Services, however, we will provide you with a fixed Price which is payable by you if you want to schedule the Home Survey Service. If your case proves to be more complex than would reasonably be expected, based on the information you have provided to us, then we will write to you and agree any additional work and associated fees with you before such work is carried out.

We will identify where particular aspects of these Terms only apply to the provision of Legal Conveyancing Services, rather than Home Survey Services, and vice versa.

You are under no obligation to accept a Quote and/or a Price.

These Terms relate only to your use of our Service and not to your use of the Operator’s website or app nor to any purchase of, use or reliance on any Property Professional Services.

While we will assist you in finding an appropriate Property Professional, we cannot offer any advice to you in respect of the choice of Property Professional nor the scope of the Property Professional Services to be provided to you. We do not provide financial, legal or any other professional advice in relation to the Quote or Price, your property transaction or the Property Professional Services. The Quote and/or Price provided relates only to the applicable Property Professional and is not a specific recommendation of a professional.

We may suspend, withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our Service for business and operational reasons at any time.

3 QUOTES AND PRICES

Quotes for Legal Conveyancing Services

Where we provide you with a Quote for Legal Conveyancing Services, we will make every effort to ensure that the Quote is accurate at the time it is communicated to you, however we are not responsible for detailing or calculating the actual price payable or any terms relevant or relating to the Quote or the Property Professional’s Services. Rates used to calculate the Quote may change after we communicate the Quote to you.

Quotes may not be accurate and/or available and/or may be delayed due to a number of factors such as: problems with the Quote generation services, the accuracy of data submitted by you (Your Data), the accuracy of data provided by the Property Professionals and/or our access to or availability of third party websites and/or search engines used as part of the Quote generation process. As such, we cannot guarantee and make no representation as to:

  • your continued and/or uninterrupted access to the Service; or
  • the accuracy of the Quote.

If you choose to accept a Quote for Legal Conveyancing Services, you will be directed to your chosen Conveyancer to proceed with the ordering and purchasing of the Quoted Legal Conveyancing Services directly from that Conveyancer.  At the point of instructing the Conveyancer to proceed, the Conveyancer should confirm the fees payable by you for the applicable Legal Conveyancing Services and provide you with their terms and conditions of business, which will apply to the performance of the Legal Conveyancing Services.

In respect of Legal Conveyancing Services only, while the Legal Conveyancing Services will be provided under and subject to a separate contract between you and the Conveyancer and, unless you agree otherwise directly with the Conveyancer, we can assure you that if there is no completion in respect of the property for which you received the Quote, there will be no legal fees for you to pay. Until your property transaction completes, you will only be responsible for, and you will only incur liability to pay, any third party costs (such as Land Registry documents or searches) that are associated with the service you receive. Your obligation to pay any legal fees only arises when your property transaction completes.

Prices for Home Survey Services

Where we provide you with a Price for Home Survey Services, if you choose to accept the Price we will book the Home Survey Services with you and take the payment for the Home Survey Service in full from you on behalf of the relevant Surveyor.  Once payment has been taken for the Home Survey Services, you will be directed to the Surveyor in connection with the performance of the Home Survey Services and you will enter into a separate agreement with the Surveyor directly in connection with the performance of the Home Survey Services.

Our responsibility for your loss or damage caused by your use of the Property Professional Services. While we have carried out a level of due diligence in selecting the Property Professionals that are available to provide Property Professional Services and we do monitor the performance of a Property Professional and the Property Professional Services provided to you, ultimately we have no actual control over the actions of the Property Professionals. As such, we are not and will not be responsible to you for any damage or cost you incur, or other loss you suffer, as a result of your appointment of a Property Professional and/or your use of the Property Professional Services. You are strongly recommended to read and understand any Property Professional’s terms and conditions relating to their services before you enter into a contract with them to receive those services.

We may re-panel your case to a new Property Professional on our panel. When it is in your best interests to do so, we may re-panel your case to another Property Professional for the same price and against the same service level commitments at any time. In such instances, you will be informed of any changes and the reasons why your case is being moved.

  • Valuation
    Please note that our Level 2 and Level 3 Home Surveys do not include a valuation as standard. This will not be included unless it has been quoted for and included in your invoice.
  • Energy Performance Certificates
    Please note, in the case of Energy Performance Certificates, If the assessor attends the appointment but does not gain access to the property, a £30.00 Inc. VAT fee is incurred and will be passed on to you.

Your right to end the contract.

Conveyancer Services

You are under no obligation to accept a Quote or Price. If you do accept a Quote in respect of Legal Conveyancing Services, you will enter into a separate contract between you and the Conveyancer and you will need to review their terms and conditions of business to understand when and in what circumstances you can cancel the Legal Conveyancing Services.

Home Survey Services

If you accept a Price in respect of Home Survey Services, you will also enter into a separate contract with the Surveyor and you will need to review their terms and conditions of business to understand when and in what circumstance you can cancel the Home Survey Services.

In addition, you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days of accepting the Price and paying for the Home Survey Services (the Cooling-off Period). We will extend this period so that you are able to change your mind at any time before the Surveyor visits the property and completes the Home Survey Services. If you do change your mind (either during the Cooling-off Period or at any time after), you are entitled to receive a refund in full, subject to the deductions set out below.

Please note, we will often be able to book in the Home Survey Services before the end of the Cooling-off Period.  If you do book in the Home Survey Services before the end of the Cooling-off Period, you agree that, if you change your mind during the Cooling-off Period, you will not receive a refund in full and that the deductions set out below will apply.

You have no right to cancel the Home Survey Services once they have been provided to you in full.

Deductions if you do change your mind. If you accept a Price for Home Survey Services and we book and take payment for the Home Survey Services on behalf of the Surveyor in accordance with these Terms, you are free to cancel the Home Survey Services before the Surveyor visits the property and completes the Home Survey Services. The refund that you receive will be subject to the following deductions (which reflect the value of the preparatory Home Survey Services that the Surveyor will perform before visiting the property):

  •   where you notify us that you want to cancel the Home Survey Services and there is more than two business days between the date on which you cancel and the date of the Home Survey Services, we will refund you in full; and
  • where you notify us that you want to cancel the Home Survey Services and there is less than two business days between the date on which you cancel and the date of the Home Survey Services, we will deduct 50% of Price from your refund.

How to cancel. If you want to cancel the Home Survey Services before they have been provided to you, please let the Surveyor know that you have changed your mind and let us know by emailing your name, address and survey date to surveys@optimus-move.co.uk.  We will refund the total amount that you paid for the Home Survey Services less the deductions set out above, where they apply, by the method that you used for payment within 14 days of you telling us that you wish to cancel the Home Survey Services.

4 YOUR OBLIGATIONS WHEN USING THE SERVICE

To receive the Service, you agree to provide us with accurate information, as requested by us in order to provide the Service.

The Service is intended for non-business users only.

You are not permitted to:

  •  charge any third party for the Quote / Price or otherwise use the Services to provide paid-for services to any third party;
  • access all or any part of the Services for business use or otherwise build a product or service which competes with our Service; or
  • access, store, distribute or transmit any Viruses, or any material that: is unlawful, harmful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, infringing, harassing or racially or ethnically offensive; facilitates illegal activity; depicts sexually explicit images; promotes unlawful violence; is discriminatory based on race, gender, colour, religious belief, sexual orientation, disability; or is otherwise illegal or causes damage or injury to any person or property.

For the purpose of these Terms, a Virus means any thing or device (including any software, code, file or programme) which may: prevent, impair or otherwise adversely affect the operation of any computer software, hardware or network, any telecommunications service, equipment or network or any other service or device; prevent, impair or otherwise adversely affect access to or the operation of any programme or data, including the reliability of any programme or data (whether by re-arranging, altering or erasing the programme or data in whole or part or otherwise); or adversely affect the user experience, including worms, trojan horses, viruses and other similar things or devices.

If you misuse our Services or breach any of these Terms, then your right to use the Services will cease immediately.

5 HOW YOU MAY USE THE SERVICE

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Service. All such rights are reserved and any use of the Service does not imply the transfer of intellectual property rights or content that may be accessed.

6 YOUR DATA

We only use any personal data we collect through your use of the Service in the ways set out in our Privacy Notice.

Please be aware that internet transmissions are never completely private or secure and that any information you send using the Service may be read or intercepted by others.

7 OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE SUFFERED BY YOU

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors and for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

We shall not be responsible to you for losses you suffer that are caused by us being in breach of these Terms if the loss is:

  •   Unexpected. It was not obvious that it would happen and nothing that you said to us as part of the performance of the Services meant we should have expected it to happen (i.e. the loss was unforeseeable).
  •   Caused by a delay outside of our control.
  • Avoidable. If you could have done something / taken reasonable action to have avoided the loss, we will not be responsible to you.

Subject to the foregoing and on the basis that our Services are entirely free of charge to you, our total responsibility to you for all losses arising under or in connection with your use of our Services shall be limited to the total amount that you pay a Property Professional for the performance of Property Professional Services.

8 GENERAL TERMS

We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.

You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these Terms to another person if we agree in writing.

No rights for third parties. This agreement does not give rise to any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this agreement.

If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. Even if we delay in enforcing a Term, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaching the Terms, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.

Which country’s laws apply to any disputes? These Terms, their subject matter and their formation, are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction except that if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland.

Alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court. If you are a consumer and are not happy with how we have handled any complaint, you may want to contact the alternative dispute resolution provider we use. You can submit a complaint for online dispute resolution to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.